New Covid-19 testing sites to be rolled out in Essex
More coronavirus testing centres are to be rolled out across Southend.
The Borough Council has said it is to create a new pop-up site and four new lateral flow device (LFD) testing facilities for people without symptoms throughout January.
Among the first will be a pop-up testing site will be at Shoebury Youth Centre, which starts today (Wednesday 6 January) until Sunday. It will operate from 10am to 5pm.
The site will also provide a limited amount of self-testing kits.
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An LFD testing site, which gives results within one hour of submitting the completed test, has also opened at University Square building. Testing there will be for people who have come into contact with a confirmed positive case .
Four new LFD testing sites will be located in central Southend, east central Southend, Leigh-on-Sea in the west and Shoeburyness in the east. Each site will look to accommodate 500 LFD tests each day.
The council is also working with the Department for Health and Social Care to develop three more local testing sites.
Cllr Trevor Harp, cabinet member for health and adult social care, said: